In an Ontario by-election, the dominant issue isn’t local, it is Gaza

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The dominant issue in the Milton byelection doesn’t seem to be expanded Go-Train service or building Hwy. 13 — it’s Gaza. That’s based on what is being said and what is not being said by candidates and leaders.

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This weekend, Liberal candidate Galen Naidoo Harris posted and quickly deleted a video saying that it’s wrong to stand with Israel and that he will be the voice for those concerned about Gaza at Queen’s Park.

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“For those folks that are advocating for Gaza, know that I have your back, and I’ll be your voice at Queen’s Park,” Naidoo Harris said.

While recording the video, Naidoo Harris was wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf long associated with Palestinian political struggles. He’s been campaigning on this issue as well, falsely blaming Ontario Premier Doug Ford for banning the keffiyeh from the Ontario legislature and making it a partisan issue.

The truth is that Ted Arnott, the speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, ruled last week that the keffiyeh, in today’s context, is a political statement and following longstanding rules for the legislature, it cannot be worn. Ford opposed the move and joined NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie in calling for Arnott to reverse course.

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It’s not the government that sets the rules for the legislature, it’s the speaker, and Arnott has ruled that the keffiyeh is a political symbol and statement.

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As if to hammer home that point, Naidoo Harris spent the weekend campaigning in one. The scarf has no cultural or religious connection for him, he’s making a political statement, and trying to make it partisan, which is why Arnott said it’s not appropriate in the legislature.

The rules have long been in place to ensure that people aren’t wearing anything that can enflame passions or tensions. It’s not about dividing people as so many politicians claimed last week, it’s about calming those divisions.

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That didn’t stop Ford from jumping on the issue, though, and denouncing the speaker’s ruling, not something a premier normally does. Ford didn’t do this for reasons of principle, though, he did it because he’s worried about the result in the Milton byelection.

He also did this after telling his caucus not to say or post anything to social media about the Middle East until after the byelection.

Milton has a significant Muslim population, and all the parties, candidates and leaders are courting, even pandering to that voting bloc. It’s why you haven’t, as of this writing, seen a single Ontario political party leader denounce the vile chants in favour of Hamas this weekend in Ottawa.

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“Oct. 7 is proof that we are almost free,” one of the protest leaders called out as the march in Ottawa went by the Parliament buildings. He followed up with “Long live Oct. 7, long live the resistance,” and with that, the crowd of thousands cheered.

It’s despicable that anyone would cheer the barbaric attacks of Oct. 7. The attacks were carried out by a group that has been listed as a banned terrorist entity in Canada for more than 20 years.

Crickets from Ontario’s political leaders, they are all cowards, too afraid to say anything lest they lose the votes of radicals in Milton who support terrorism, which I doubt most Muslim Canadians do. They all posted on social media about Passover, but they haven’t denounced the cheering of a terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 Jews six months ago.

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Now, compare that to a Nazi flag and Confederate flag showing up however briefly at the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, on that same stretch of road in 2022. The political leaders couldn’t issue their condemnations fast enough, and opposition parties called on Ford to condemn the flags and intolerance even harder.

Here, with open cheers of support for terrorism, not only is Ford silent — which is shameful — so are Stiles and Crombie.

If you can’t condemn people cheering on terrorism and murder on our own streets, then you aren’t fit for public office.

The people of Ontario deserve better; every single leader is failing us at the moment. Do better, or move aside for someone with moral clarity and a backbone.

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